Friday, December 5, 2008

BLACK FRIDAY, Pitt Style

THE BACKYARD BRAWL
November 28th 2008
Forecast: HI-40, Low 29, scattered flurries

A Photo and Video Diary of the Backyard Brawl

Arrive at Jeremiah’s house at 7:30 am, he answers the door with his BIG CITY shirt on and the Pitt Fight Song going off in the back round.








Jer goes upstairs to get ready, I turn on last years 13-9 game.
Float and his buddy Matt arrive at Jer’s house, they drove in from Columbus for the game.

Pack the car, everyone comments on how it really isn’t that cold, and that we expected much worse.

Leave for the stadium

We arrive in GOLD LOT 2, and park in our now regular VIP spot, about a pitching wedge away from Heinz Field.









It is cold, really cold. Damn rivers and the wind blowing off them. Everyone puts on an extra layer, or five if you are Jer.

We decided early in the season that Old German Premium Lager was the only way to go for a game like today's!










We get the grill ready and debate on how we are going to make scrambled eggs with no bowls, forks, milk or frying pan. We improvise...







We are geniuses.

Matt takes over the grill as Float blast the Pitt Marching band CD from his car stereo to much displeasure of the WVU fans sitting about seven feet from us. The Pitt Fight Song and the band’s version of Thriller seem to be on repeat. How this CD didn’t go platinum amazes me.
Finish the breakfast portion of the tailgate and as more people arrive the anti-WVU signs go up.










We notice the Pitt team walking into the stadium, we go over and cheer them on.











We hear the Pitt band march down the street, we boo them because lets face it they are the band, and they never went platinum.

I get to my seat and see my dad already there with my funcle (fake uncle) Joe and Eli. Lil Eli is there too, (I guess he is my facousin??)

GAMETIME!











Pitt gets the opening kickoff and five plays later are in the end zone for a early 7-0 lead.

After that nobody scores for a while but Pitt pretty much dominates the play, especially the defense, in a completely different way then last year. Last year Pitt blitzed all day to shut down the running lanes for Pat White and Steve Slaton, this year they rushed their four down linemen every play and that was all. Pitt line dominated the WVU line and those 4 pretty much shut down the WVU rushing attack.

END of 1st QUARTER, 7-0 Pitt

Early in the 2nd quarter Pitt QB, Bill Stull gets sacked, fumbles and gives WVU great field position. After one first down, WVU has first and goal, they are held to a FG.

I turn to my cousin and say loud enough for the cheering WVU fans in front of me to hear, “If he would have done that last year WVU would have won.” It worked, one of them responded, “You won by 4 last year that was only worth 3” (the West Virginia Board of Education should be very proud with his math). “I’m pretty sure he missed 2 of those last year didn’t he,” I reply, “that totals 6 points.” He turns away confused and mumbles something under his breathe. I WIN!
Pitt gets the ball on the ensuing kickoff and drives 62 yards in 10 plays. They have 1st and goal at the 3 yard line, they hand it to the best back in the country, Shady McCoy, he gets a yard. 2nd and goal at the 2, a reminder, McCoy leads the nation in scoring this year, and he is still on the team and did not get hurt on the previous play. Time for Cavanaugh to get “tricky.” Cavanaugh calls for a fade pass to the corner of the endzone. This is a terrible call, but what makes it worse is that Stull throws it about 10 yards short for an easy INT. WVU ball, we get nothing out of it.

HALFTIME, 7-3 Pitt

WVU receives the opening kick of the 3rd quarter and moves easily down field. Once again, they are 1st and goal and once again they are held to a FG. I again, this time louder then the time before, say, “If he would have done that last year WVU would have won.” I get a look back, but no comment. I still rule the section!

Pitt goes 3 and out and WVU drives 81 yards in 4 plays capped off by a great 54-yard run by Pat White. I am now not as confident. Being a Pitt fan, I've seen this before. They play a great first half and then in the second half the WVU offense comes out and blows the doors off Pitt, these games never end pretty.
2003- 24-24 at halftime, WVU wins 52-31
2005- 21-13 WVU at halftime, final 45-13 WVU
2006- 27-24 Pitt at haltime, WVU wins 45-27
TODAY- 7-3 Pitt at halftime, BOOM! WVU goes 9-0 in the first 9+ minutes of the 3rd quarter. This is not good.

After a few 3 and outs for both teams the 3rd quarter ends.

End of 3rd Quarter, 12-7 WVU

Bill Stull once again makes a terrible throw, his 20th of the game. This one is picked off once again giving WVU great field position. Pitt defense holds them to another FG. WVU kid doesn’t look back at me and I say nothing, confidence is no longer high.

Pitt gets the ball, Stull makes his 21st, 22nd, and 23rd and final terrible pass of the game, and Pitt punts the ball away.

Pat White doesn’t do much better passing, throwing his next pass to a wide open Jovani Chappel, the only problem is he plays for Pitt. Chappel returns it to the WVU 16 yard line.

Stull still in the game, but with 9:41 left in the game Wannestedt and Cavanaugh realize something that most Pitt fans have known all season. Bill Stull cannot win a football game for you, but Shady McCoy can.

1st play, McCoy up the middle for 11 to the WVU 5.
2nd play, McCoy up the middle for 5 and a touchdown.
WVU 15-13 (Pitt threw the ball on their 2-point conversion try and failed, again McCoy was available).

Pitt defense holds for a 3 and out and the Pitt offense is on the field.

1st play, McCoy for 3 to the Pitt 44
2nd play, McCoy for 9 to the WVU 47
3rd play, McCoy for 14 to the WVU 33
4th play, LaRod for (-2) back to WVU 35. He can have a seat for the rest of the game, McCoy is back in.
5th play, McCoy for 16 to the WVU 19
6th play, McCoy for 2 to the WVU 17
7th play, McCoy for 6 to the WVU 11 (face mask penalty moves it to the 5)
8th play, McCoy for no gain
9th play, McCoy for 4 to the 1
10th play McCoy for 1 and a touchdown.











Pitt 19-15…ballgame!

McCoy finished with a career best 183 yards on 33 carries. He had 13 carries for 89 yards in the 4th quarter.

On to the post game celebration!










Back at the car, lots of bowl trip planning, and lots of the Pitt Band CD.

On the way home Floats car busts a hose somewhere creating lots of smoke, this probably isn’t good. He pulls over at Moore Park, they go to the auto repair store down the street to get a part, and Jer and I stay with the car, it is REALLY cold!









Car is fixed and we are on our way to the nightcap, Pitt hoops at Mr. D’s. Jer and I go to JR’s for a beer before the game.









Pitt wins easily against Texas Tech who started the game off with a whiteout.

Back to JR’s this time with the other Dugan brother Jason.









Stayed at JR’s til it closed celebrating the Trifecta of the day in sports (Pitt football win, Pitt hoops win, WVU football loss).

Life is good.

Hail to Pitt!!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

TROUBLE TRACKER

We have two odd additions to the Trouble Tracker this week. The first is DB De’Shon Sanders from Texas Tech who was arrested earlier this morning with possession and intent to distributed 50 grams of cocaine. No, this is not odd due to the spelling of his name; his mother was just “creative”. This is odd because I did not think Texas Tech had any defensive players. I have watched them all season and never saw one player play defense, interesting.

The second one is a first on the Trouble Tracker; we have a mascot breaking the law. And where else, other than State College does this happen? Yes, the Nittany Lion, James Sheep (insert your own joke here), was arrested on a DUI charge. As punishment he could lose his scholarship, yes you read correctly, the Penn State mascot is on scholarship for dressing up as a furry. As for the rest of the football season, his status is in doubt for the Rose Bowl on January 1.

SEASON STANDINGS:
The "U" - 7
Florida State Criminoles - 5
The State Penn - 5
Indiana - 4
WVU - 3
Tennessee - 2
MeCheatAgain - 2
Florida - 2
Mississippi State - 1
Nebraska - 1
the Ohio State University - 1
Texas Tech - 1
UCONN - 1

CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
Big Ten - 4 schools (36% of schoools in conference)
SEC - 3 (25%)
Big East - 2 (25%)
ACC - 2 (16%)
Big XII - 2 (16%)

FEAST WEEK

Contributed by: Jason Dugan

The first official week of college basketball has come and gone. ESPN refers to last week as Feast Week; I like to call it the Basketball Utopia. In my lifetime, there have been many great inventions and discoveries, but whoever came up with the idea or concept for ESPN is at the top of my list.

For Feast Week I worked the Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving, played cards for 8 hours, had family over for Thanksgiving dinner, spent time with my wonderful wife and son, and still found the time to watch some or all of 19 College Basketball games. Forget YouTube, Hybrid Cars or iPODs - the creation of ESPN is the greatest invention of my lifetime.

Here are some of my thoughts on those games:

Syracuse looked good. Johnny Flynn is a Big East POY guaranteed, but I still see Syracuse as a team lacking an identity. They have some good shooters, some good penetrators, good rebounding at times, but no inside scoring or mid-range shooters. Seven Big East wins, tops.

Wichita State is nicknamed the Shockers. I laugh aloud every time I hear it, and oh yea by the way, they can play. They showed lots of hustle and energy in their game against the hated Hoyas of Georgetown. For those of you that don't know what a
Shocker is imagine if someone tried to use you as a bowling ball, and you liked it. I cannot wait until New Mexico State changes their nickname to the Dirty Sanchez’s’

Florida could be a really good team this year. Nick Calathes looked like the absolute best player on the floor in both games I saw him play, and reminded me a little of
Larry Legend. The ability to dominate without jaw dropping athleticism, just really good at everything.

The mustache on Aron Baynes from Washington State, let's just hope that no children go missing in Washington because he now
fits the description of the suspect. If he owns a van then it is certain that he will spend 48 hours in lockup answering questions.

The Washington Huskies play as if they just met each other 5 minutes before the game and called next. Their point guard is named Isaiah Thomas; maybe he will ruin the Washington program like
his namesake has done everywhere he has been since retiring.

How does a team like Notre Dame gets one player that is willing to be physical and all of a sudden they are considered
a "tough" team? If you start three players over 6'8" and only one of them averages more than five rebounds a game, and if only one of them shoots from the paint more than from behind the arc, you are not a physical team. Hey, these are not my rules, just the rules.

The best team by far was PITT. Name one other team that held an opponent to 100 points less than their early season best. You cannot do it.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

T3R - Week 7

Okay, that is it. I am completely done with the video game offense hype that has been going around college football the past few years. I do not mind the scoring, but I want to see it backed up by some defense. I know that everyone loves the Big XII this year, but seriously guys, play some defense, PLEASE! Texas is the only team that ranks in the top 50 in the nation in total defense, and they rank 50th. When it comes to passing defense Colorado leads the way, they allow 215.33 yards per game and rank 73rd in the nation. That is right they rank 73rd of 119 team, but lead the Big XII in pass defense. By the way, USC and TCU both allow less TOTAL yards per game then Colorado does through the air. You will notice in this weeks rankings that I am taking a much closer look to see who plays defense and who just uses the time the defense is on the field as a rest period for the offense.

#1 FLORIDA GATORS (11-1)
LAST WEEK: 45-14 win @ Florida State
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th vs #3 Alabama in SEC Title Game
Scoring Defense: 4th, 12.25 ppg
Total Defense: 7th, 275.67 ypg
The scary thing about this Florida team is that they are young. They have a total of ZERO starters on defense that are seniors. They showed last week that bad weather conditions would not slow down their offense. And nobody has found anything to slow down their defense. Up next, the fast surface of the Georgia Dome.

#2 TEXAS LONGHORNS (11-1)
LAST WEEK: 49-9 win vs Texas A&M
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE
Scoring Defense: 21st, 18.58 ppg
Total Defense: 50th, 339.92 ypg
Texas does play a little bit of defense. They lead the nation with 3.67 sacks per game. They also have not allowed one opponent to score 40 or more against them this year. Yes, I realize that not allowing 40 points is not exactly great praise, but against these high-powered Big XII offenses that is pretty good. They have held seven of their 12 opponents to 14 points or less. That is impressive, no matter what conference you play in.

#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (12-0)
LAST WEEK: 36-0 win vs Auburn
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th vs #1 Florida in SEC Title Game
Scoring Defense: 3rd, 11.5 ppg
Total Defense: 3rd, 248.5 ypg
Alabama leads the SEC in Total Defense, Scoring Defense and Rushing Defense. They rank second in Passing Defense. They are going to have to bring that plus more to stop the Gators on Saturday. At stake? A trip to Miami for the National Championship.

#4 SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS (10-1)
LAST WEEK: 38-3 win vs Notre Dame
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th @ UCLA
Scoring Defense: 1st, 7.82 ppg
Total Defense: 1st, 210.55 ypg
USC has, without question, the best defense in the nation this year. This is probably the best Pete Carroll has had since taking over in LA. They manhandled Notre Dame last week holding them to nine yards in the entire first half and did not allow a first down until the last play of the 3rd quarter. I know that they play in the Pac-10 and those offenses are not as high-powered or dynamic and a lot of schools, but if you watch them you see how easily they are able to do it. I hope and pray that USC takes care of business this week against cross-town rival UCLA, because I cannot wait to see them line-up with Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Two of the best defenses in the nation, and each with a few play makers on offense too. I can’t wait!

#5 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (11-1)
LAST WEEK: 61-41 win @ Oklahoma State
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th vs Missouri in BIG XII Title Game
Scoring Defense: 60th, 24.83 ppg
Total Defense: 66th, 359.5 ypg
I know that a few weeks ago that I was raving about how much I loved the Sooners offense, and I still do, but please start to play some defense! They are currently in the midst of seven straight games in which they have allowed at least 21 points. And they have allowed 31 in four of those games. Here is what is going to happen. OU will beat Missouri and play Florida or Alabama for the National Title. OU will get stopped a few times on offense and need a few stops on defense. Then what? Their defense can’t stop anyone. Bob Stoops who used to be a defensive guru is now running one of the most pathetic defensive units in the country, and his team is ranked 2nd? Please Bob, have your defense show up this week against Missouri. Win this game 28-20, it would do wonders for your teams reputation.

#6 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (11-1)
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETED
Scoring Defense: 6th, 12.42 ppg
Total Defense: 5th, 263.92 ypg
Penn State lost probably their best defensive player for the season when LB Sean Lee tore his knee during spring football. They then had a huge hole on their defensive line when suspensions and injuries hit the team. They still managed to lead the Big Ten in Rush Defense, Scoring Defense and Total Defense. As I mentioned before, it will be fu to watch them match-up with USC in the Rose Bowl.

#7 UTAH UTES (12-0)
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETED
Scoring Defense: 13th, 17.25 ppg
Total Defense: 18th, 295.92 ypg
Utah will be going to a BCS game once again this year and they did it with a little of everything, not just defense. The defense was what kept them in most games. The Utes did not win all shootouts like years past. They won twice in November when only scoring 13 points, why, the defense. Could be fun to watch them in the Fiesta Bowl with maybe Texas.

#8 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (12-0)
LAST WEEK: 61-0 win vs Fresno State
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE
Scoring Defense: 4th, 12.25 ppg
Total Defense: 15th, 294.5 ypg
Boise State has kept 10 of their 12 opponents to 16 points or less. Now the Broncos have to hope for some love from the BCS Bowl Committees. By rule, the BCS must take a non-BCS conference team if they are in the top 12 in the BCS rankings. If more than one team meets this requirement the highest ranked is selected. Right now, that is Utah. There have been rumors that Boise State would be the at-large team chosen in either the Fiesta Bowl to meet up with other non-BCS team Utah, or in the Sugar Bowl to meet up with what will probably be the loser of the SEC Title Game on Saturday.

#9 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (10-2)
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETED
Scoring Defense: 7th, 13.08 ppg
Total Defense: 9th, 279.25 ypg
The Buckeyes just sit and wait right now. They could and probably will get into a BCS game as an at-large team, but if not, they would then go to Orlando for the Capital One Bowl. This is Ohio State’s worst possible nightmare. First, it would end a string of three straight years of making a BCS bowl. It would also match Ohio State up against the SEC conference for a third straight year, the previous two did not end kindly for the Buckeyes. In all likelihood Ohio State will be playing in the Sugar Bowl against the loser of the SEC Title game, which would once again put Ohio State versus an SEC opponent.

#10 TEXAS TECH RED RADIERS (11-1)
LAST WEEK: 35-28 win vs Baylor
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE
Scoring Defense: 69th, 26.25 ppg
Total Defense: 71st, 371.58 ypg
As Forrest Gump once said, “That’s all I have to say about that.”

#11 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (10-2)
LAST WEEK: 30-10 win vs Syracuse
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th @ Hawaii

#12 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (9-3)
LAST WEEK: 28-21 win vs Maryland
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th vs #19 Virginia Tech in ACC Title Game

#13 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (9-3)
LAST WEEK: 45-42 win @ Georgia
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE:

#14 BALL STATE CARDINALS (12-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-22 win vs Western Michigan
NEXT WEEK: Dec 5th vs Buffalo in MAC Title Game

#15 IOWA HAWKEYES (8-4)
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETED

#16 OREGON DUCKS (9-3)
LAST WEEK: 65-38 win vs Oregon State
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE

#17 TCU HORNED FROGS (10-2)
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETED

#18 MISSISSIPPI REBELS (8-4)
LAST WEEK: 45-0 win vs Mississippi State
REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE

#19 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (8-4)
LAST WEEK: 17-14 win vs Virginia
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th vs #12 Boston College in ACC Title Game

#20 PITT PANTHERS (8-3)
LAST WEEK: 19-15 win vs West Virginia
NEXT WEEK: Dec 6th @ UCONN

TROUBLE TRACKER

The UCONN football team joins The Tracker on the last week of the regular season with an arrest from a drunken driving charge to RB Andre Dixon. Dixon was thought to be part of a two-headed backfield in Storrs this fall, but Donald Brown became the feature back during the preseason. Brown leads the nation in rushing with 1,633 yards this year, while Dixon has just 37 yards on 9 attempts.

THE SEASON STANDINGS:
The "U" - 7
Florida State Criminoles - 5
The State Penn - 4
Indiana - 4
WVU - 3
Tennessee - 2
MeCheatAgain - 2
Florida - 2
Mississippi State - 1
Nebraska - 1
the Ohio State University - 1

CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
Big Ten - 4 schools (36% of schools in conference)
SEC - 3 (25%)
Big East - 2 (25%)
ACC - 2 (16%)
Big XII - 1 (8%)